The children of St. Ignatius College, Siggiewi Primary, before breaking up for the Mid-term holidays, revised the four main compass points using interactive whiteboard activities as well as using the Constracta-Bot.

Bee-Bots and Constructa-Bots are programmable floor robots. They make sounds, have flashing eyes and bright buttons for the children to use to input instructions. The children simply love them.

More details about this activity can be found when accessing the link below:

The ninth session serves as a round up for the activities covered in previous sessions. The children are once again involved in physical activity, however this time the activity focuses on animal products, topic that was covered in Session 5. Here the concepts are reinforced through different activities as children learn through play and games. Since, during session 7, children learnt about the life-cycle of a plant, we thought of reinforcing also the concepts learnt during this session by taking the children to Buskett. The Bee-Bots will also join the children during this outing. The children will thus have the opportunity to see various trees, plants and flowers, observe closely the nature around them and also do some physical exercise.

The eighth session sees the children involved in physical activity. The session starts off with some stretching exercises linked to the previous session; How a plant grows. The session is also linked to the concept covered in Session 2 where the children were involved in activities covering adding (+1, +2) up to a total of 50. Here these concepts are reinforced through different activities as children learn through play and games. This session gives children the opportunity to evaluate what has been learnt so far regarding programming. Children will instinctively try and guess the mysterious answer to the sum “the bee” child has to work out and by following the programming of the Bee-Bot they can tell on which number the robot will land. Here the mental visualisation of the series of actions that have been programmed by their classmate come into play. After the children discover the answer, they have to run and find that answer from the charts scattered around the yard.

The eighth session sees the children involved in physical activity. The session starts off with some stretching exercises linked to the previous session of growing a flower. The session is also linked to the concept covered in Session 2 where the children were involved in a number recognition exercise. Here these concepts are reinforced through different activities as children learn through play and games. Learning is fun and one can also evaluate what has been learnt as to programming. Children will instinctively try and guess the mysterious number “the bee” child knows and by following the programming of the Bee-Bot they can tell on which number the robot will land. Here the mental visualisation of the series of actions that have been programmed by their classmate come into play.

The session’s main objective is to give the children an opportunity to have a closer look at the beauty of nature and use a digital microscope that can help us see things that are usually not visible to the naked eye. During the session the children will have the opportunity to understand how a plant grows from a little seed to a fully grown flower. The Bee-Bot is used during an activity where the children are to put in a logical sequence pictures depicting the life cycle of a flower. The microscope is also used during this session to encourage children to investigate closely different kind of flowers, leaves, etc.

Session delivery date:
St. Thomas More Zejtun Primary A – Thursday 3rd March 2011
St. Clare Pembroke Primary C – scheduled for the 25th May 2011

Oh what a day! Children attending Year 1 at Zejtun A Primary school had quite a great time visiting the Government farm Ghammieri. We’ve been talking about animals quite a lot during our sessions and thus it was time for children to actually see some of these animals, the places where they live as well as hear their actual sounds. Children were enthusiastic about this outing! During this session, children had also the opportunity to use the Tuff Cams to take photos and shoot videos of all that they were seeing. Before visiting Ghammieri, children had the opportunity to view a presentation about the Government farm to help them focus better on what they were expected to find.

Children had great fun using Tuff Cams. They shot videos and took pictures of goats, cows, birds, ducks and so on. They did quite a good job. Every child had the opportunity to handle the Tuff Cams. The pictures and videos taken by the children will be eventually used later on to create a presentation about their work during this project.

During the fifth session children will be focusing on the products derived from certain farm animals. Once again Bee-Bots will help the children during the learning process. Children will meet Ganni on his farm accompanied by two children. This time the children, with the help of Ganni, will learn more about animals and products they give to us people. Children will also have the opportunity to work on Primary Writer. The interactive activities that form part of the lesson will give children the opportunity to use the interactive whiteboard.

The forth session focuses on helping children learn the names of the homes where some farm animals live. The children will once more virtually visit Ganni’s farm and his animals. This time Ganni is going round his farm to check that all his animals are safely sleeping in their homes. Bee-Bots come in handy in helping children match the animal to its home. During this session children will also be able to work with KidPix.

The third session’s main objective is to give the children an opportunity to refine their use of the Bee-Bot, while they discover how the use of a digital microphone can be loads of fun. During the session the children will be introduced with farm animals and their respective sounds. Some animlas the children might be familiar with but others may be more challenging for them. The Bee-Bot is used in an activity where the children are to match the sound to the respective picture whilst the microphone is used for the children to record their own voice mimicing the animals.

During this session children have the opportunity to work once more with Bee-Bots. Today’s session objective is to help children to add (+1 or +2) up to a total of 50. Bee-Bots prove to be a great teaching and learning tool in helping children reach this objective. The children have to work out the sum they can see on a flashcard and then program the Bee-Bot to reach their answer.